Exceeding Data
by Stella By Fire
Summary: A little something for Inui's belated birthday.


Exceeding Data  
  
The sun started rising at 6:00 in the morning and although many were not awake yet, seven members of the Seigaku tennis team were gathered together in the clubhouse, dressed in their proud Seigaku uniforms. Amidst the many yawns and even a couple of snores, an enthusiastic Eiji worked to set up the camera gear and Oishi made the clubhouse presentable.

"Kikumaru-senpai, it's too early, can't we do this later?" Echizen asked as he tried to keep his eyes open.

"Baka ... we can't do it later, then we'll get caught." Momo said with his eyes closed and head tilted against a wall.

"We should look awake if we're gonna do this." A quiet Taka-san said politely as he rubbed his neck eyeing the two teammates. He was startled by the sudden snores of both Momoshiro and Echizen, especially since they were just talking a few seconds ago.

"Don't worry Taka-san. They'll wake up when the camera's all set up. Eiji, do you need help?" Fuji asked with his ever-present smile.

"Nya! I have it all set! Thank you Fujiko! Oishi! Are you almost done?"

Oishi gave his doubles partner a thumbs-up. Eiji smiled and turned back to look at his teammates.

"Eh? Momo and Ochibi are asleep! Hmm ..." The red-haired stroked his chin in a slight panic. You can't have your teammates asleep at such an important project!

"Don't worry, don't worry ..." Fuji said as he handed Taka-san a racket.

"Oh?" Taka looked at the racket questioningly before taking it.

"Uh oh ..." Oishi muttered as he braced himself. The clubhouse wasn't very big and he could only anticipate a day's worth of deafness. Kaidoh hissed as he turned his back to his friends and opened the door. He figured closed spaces were a bad thing when Taka-san was on the verge of exploding. Air may be good for the team ... so would a quick escape should Taka-san break anything or anyone in half.  
  
"BUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNG!!!!!!!!!!! HEY YOU TWO SLEEPY HEADS! WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!!!" Taka screamed as he swung his racket at the two only to stop right before he hit Momo's head. That immediately woke them up as they stared at Taka-san with fear and in silence. Best not to say anything when you're about to piss in your pants. Fuji promptly took the racket away.

"Saa ... now that everyone's awake. Let's start Eiji."

Kikumaru nodded as he stationed himself behind the camera.

"Oishi, you go first."

"Wait wait Eiji, do you have Tezuka's video?"

A thumbs-up indicated there was nothing to worry about.

"Don't worry so much Oishi! I got it in the mail yesterday. Now c'mon, let's start!" He said as he started recording. Oishi beamed as he started to record his message. After Oishi, the other six members took their turns and their project was finished with just enough time to spare before the morning practice started.

It was unusual to see the tennis courts empty when morning practice was about to start. Usually, the regulars would come a bit earlier than the rest of the team but not even one of them was in sight. Inui noted this was quite odd indeed. There was an 89% chance something was going on with a mere 11% chance of a serious crisis like injury or one of the teammates getting hit by a car or helping pregnant women like they usually do.

"Where is everyone?" Inui asked himself as he turned the doorknob to the clubhouse. As the door swung open, he was shocked to see his teammates lying around the clubhouse, asleep in the most uncomfortable positions. He turned his attention to a random TV set hooked up with a VCR. In Eiji's hand was a videotape. Inui raised his eyebrow as he put his tennis gear down and pried the videotape out of Eiji's hand. Inui made a face as he took a handkerchief out to wipe off Eiji's drool on the tape before putting it into the VCR. He pressed play and sat down in front of the TV next to Taka-san's sleeping body and in front of an unconscious Eiji.

_Well, at least they left me a spot to sit even if they didn't include me in this meeting_ ... Inui thought as the fuzzy screen suddenly turned into Oishi.

"Eh?" Inui muttered as he listened closely.

"Inui, I remember meeting you in my science class. You always sat in the front and I always sat in the middle. I thought you were really, really smart but I didn't know your name until I saw you at the Tennis Club meeting the next day. Your data tennis scared me but you always used your data to help us train. Erm ... uhhh ... well, I'm glad I met you and you've always been a great science tutor ... Happy birthday Inui!" Oishi said as he flashed a huge smile.

The next person was Fuji and Inui couldn't help but wonder what the prodigy had to say about him.

"Inui ... I remember meeting you in math class as first years. I remember being paired with you for a project in that class. One time, we were supposed to meet after school but you came in a half hour later with your face all dirty and well ... black. You explained to me that it was a result from a botched-up chemistry experiment. Saa ... Inui, was that really a chemistry experiment or were you working on Aozu even back then? Anyway, keep the Inui-juice, Aozu, and Penal Teas coming! Happy birthday Inui!

Inui swore he saw Momoshiro and Kaidoh tackle the tensai after the Inui-juice comment before the camera was focused on a very shy Taka-san. In the background, Inui could still hear Fuji struggling and rackets being knocked down.

_Oishi must've had a panic attack_ ... Inui smiled, thinking of the beloved Mother Hen ... _Kaidoh and Momoshiro! You're lucky Tezuka's still in Germany or else it's 150 laps for attacking a teammate_ ...

"Ah ... you were the first one who told me to not strain my muscles so much three years ago. You said if I kept it up, then I would surely injure myself. So I listened to you because you were and still are so wise. You even pointed out that working at the restaurant still counts as training. Hmm ... I know I won't be practicing with you anymore after this year, Inui, and you will probably go to a really prestigious high school with your grades and test scores, but you are always welcomed to have free sushi at my place anytime. Happy birthday!"

Inui could feel a slight pang in his heart just thinking about not being with his friends in high school. Taka-san giving up his tennis for sushi training had bothered Inui before but to hear it from Taka's own mouth again made him think how different things would be.

"EH? Taka-san! Does that mean we don't get free sushi?!?" Momo exclaimed in the video.

"Momo-chan! You're on camera!" Eiji whispered.

"Eh ..." A blush spread on Momo's face as he slapped the back of his neck.

_Hmm ... I need to remind the team to stop abusing their necks or there's a 56% chance they'll hurt themselves_ ... Another one of Inui's mental post-it notes.

"Ahh ... gomen ... Inui-senpai, I never had class with you but the first time I met you was at the burger place a day before I started at Seigaku. You said if I ate one more hamburger instead of eating two batches of french fries, I will gain more protein instead of filling up on more starches ... oh! And that there was a 98% chance I'd grow 8 inches by the end of my first year. I thought you were scary at that time but then I realized you were right. I did grow eight inches and I did feel less gassy without the extra fries ... ehh ... oh wait ... can we cut that out?!?"

"NO!" The team said in unison.

"Damnit! Anyway, then I started school and saw you at the Tennis Club and realized you were really good with data. It wasn't until I actually had to stand in your shoes as manager to realize how difficult your job really was but keep up the good work Inui-senpai and happy birthday!"

There was a brief pause before he saw Eiji on the screen.

"Hoi hoi! Innnnnnnuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiii ... I'm sorry Momo-chan took so long! But I remember you were in my literature class when we started school. I used to make fun of you and said that with your glasses, you can read the chalkboard even if you were in the bathroom ..."

"EIJI! That's not nice! You shouldn't hurt Inui's feelings like that on his birthday!" Oishi said in a panic as he grasped his neck. Eiji turned around to look at his partner before turning back to the camera.

_Again with the necks_ ...

"Don't mind him, Inui. Now that I think about it, it wasn't that funny ... nya ..." Eiji stopped to shake his head a bit before striking up a smile, "But Inui! That was when you told me about the Tennis Club meeting! Remember? I almost forgot and you saw my racket and asked me about it. If it wasn't for you, things would've been bad ... nya ... but I'm glad we became such good friends. Happy birthday!" He ended with a peace sign.

"Mmmmmm ... Inui-senpai ... your data tennis is really annoying," Echizen said casually. Inui could hear a collective groan in the background. "But I have to admit ... It is really powerful and it's expected from you, Inui-senpai, to do such a good job at it. But ..."

_ OH? Is that a smirk I see_ ... Inui thought to himself with an amused smile playing on his lips ... _78% ... Mada –  
_

"... Mada dane ..." Echizen finished. "Happy birthday senpai."

Then came on Kaidoh, which Inui was surprised to see. He figured Kaidoh would not participate in something like this since it took up a lot of his training time. On top of that, Kaidoh, as gruff as he seemed, was indeed a shy boy.

_And what does my kouhai have to say_ ... Inui's smile grew wider.

"Inui-senpai, I remember I first saw you at the Tennis Club but I didn't start talking to you until after you pulled me off from fighting with that baka Momoshiro ..."

"HEY!" Momoshiro yelled.

"Shut up ..." Kaidoh said calmly before continuing. "You said that I should start using the rage I have gathered from Momoshiro and put it into my tennis. Fssssh ... I hate being so predictable to you, that you know, but I figured it's not so bad to have someone know you so well. It does some good for doubles games right? Well ... if we ever get to play again that is ... Anyway, I wanted to say thank you for helping me with my training and perfecting my boomerang snake."

Inui thought if Kaidoh wasn't sitting down, he probably would've bowed to the camera to show his gratitude.

"Happy birthday Inui-senpai and I hope next year, we'll still get to train and play tennis if you're not too busy."

_Well, Kaidoh might as well stick a knife in my heart and turn it if he was going to make me feel so damn sad_ ... Inui mused as he was about to turn off the VCR when a familiar figure popped up after a few seconds of fuzziness.

_Oh? Tezuka?_

"Inui, keep up the good work. You're an asset to our team. Happy birthday."

The tape finally ended and he stopped the machine. Looking at his sleeping teammates he couldn't help but flash a huge grin.

"These guys, they're always exceeding data." He said standing up to get a full view of his beloved teammates scattered all around the clubhouse with the sun shining on their faces.


End file.
